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Topic: AOL Instant Messenger pulls the plug (Read 350 times)

After 20 years it was announced this week that AOL Instant Messenger will be shutting down. Chances are good most people hadn't given much thought to AOL Instant Messenger or didn't realize it was still a thing, but chances are good if you're old enough to have been an active internet user in the late 90's or early 2000's you probably at some point had a AOL Messenger account. The number of users have obviously sunk to all time lows, but you have to give credit to any internet service that can last 20 years. TechCrunch has the story.

The pioneering chat app that taught us to text is pulling the plug. On December 15th, AOL Instant Messenger will shut down after running since 1997. AIM dominated online chat in North America at the turn of the century. But with SMS and social apps like Facebook and WhatsApp having conquered chat, AOL is giving up the fight with no planned replacement.